Saturday, February 28, 2009

Harkin Interviewing Democrats for U.S. Attorney

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin is apparently doing a little interviewing during his weekend in Des Moines. A source close to the senator confirms Harkin is interviewing Democrats so he can soon make his recommendation for the person who should take over as the next U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. Matt Whitaker holds the post now. But, as a Republican who now finds himself working under a Democratic president, he knows his days are numbered.

The source says Harkin is considering about a half dozen Iowa Democrats for the post. Several Democrats tell me Harkin doesn't want this position to be "political". As you'll remember, Democrats criticized some of former President George W Bush's Republican appointments for making the U.S. Attorney offices too political.

Would that seem to rule out several of the finalists like former Democratic Party Chairman Gordon Fischer and Polk County Democratic Chairman Tom Henderson? Several sources tell me they believe Nick Klinefeldt, a lawyer with Ahlers & Cooney of Des Moines is the favorite at this point.